D23's The Art and Artistry of Aulani Presentation Review

During D23 I had the honor to sit through “The Art and Artistry of Aulani a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this fabled new Disney resort with Imagineers Joe Rohde and Jeanette Lomboy”.  I learned in this discussion that creating Aulani was an execution was a labor of love. 

Joe started with the following questions. The premise of a 15-story hotel on the beach is not imaginative.  How do we make it imaginative, and make people go to Hawaii? The answer was simple. Hawaii is unique. Hawaiians are Hawaii. And they speak for Hawaii. Aulani means one who speaks on behalf of a higher culture.
Hawaii is one of the most invented destinations it has become a media concept and is not about the natives and their true culture anymore to tourists. Torch dancers, hula, Plumeria the things most think of when Hawaii is mentioned, are not Hawaii.  When designing the hotel the Imaginers spoke to Hawaiians to find out what is real. Hawaiians are an indigenous people, with a political history, and they are still there.  They have their own culture and are all around you when you visit the islands and they form an ancient deeply routed and hard working culture. They are a living reality of culture, a culture with deep spiritual roots who take themselves seriously and embrace others.
Joe grew up in Hawaii as a child and felt he understood that there is more to Hawaii than most think.  He and other Imaginers spoke with advisors so they could learn about the culture and history of the islands.  Jeanette spent many summers in Hawaii with her family, but she didn’t realize what really was Hawaiian until this project.

The people designing the hotel wanted people to know it isn’t a museum. It is a canvas, a blank one for the Hawaiian culture. They were informed by the past looking towards the future in this present moment. Details down to paint and pillow patterns getting it right and appropriate were important, as Disney is the messenger of this story.  The greater authority behind Aulani is the culture; they even have an in-house native advisor at Aulani. 

Why Disney, why Hawaii?
Aulani has two 15-story beachfront towers.  Disney is not trying to say it was a native Hawaiian village it is a resort. Disney did their homework in the design process though. They realized there are three important things in Hawaii. Family. Story, all the stories are made already. Magic. These three things are what Disney is all about too. There is imbedded culture in the design, instead of slapping up walls there are clever details put into the design.  Canoes like those used by the original Hawaiians inspire the supports.  There is more than meets the eye in the cultural designs in Aulani, you cannot see all or understand all in one stay.  The connections are designed to take time, like the pool lights that are laid out to form important constellations. Menehune

are the real little people of Hawaii, they are magic and mystical. There are 100’s of them hiding in resort under furniture behind plants etc. for children and visitors to find.
Aulani is on the west coast of the island with mountains on one end and ocean on the other side. Even when entering the hotel from street level there is white coral and black lava in the Aulani sign. The hotel is very different visually during the day and night.
Art

The resort is about Hawaiians they are the artists and subject matter specialists. Aulani now has the largest private collection of Hawaiian art and culture on earth, which was not planned. They had woodcarvings, sustainable art, paintings etc. represented in the collection.  The art  in the resort is  not just about the past. 

The Murals on the outside of the building are even a statements to guests. The one on left is the genealogy tied to the land itself, a hieroglyphic based on Hawaiian tattoos and is the linage chant that places Aulani in the land as a living entity.  The mural on the right side is a navigation panel to remind visitors of how they got there.
The Lobby has a large mural called a Machala (open your eyes and wake up), which tell stories. It starts with way to decipher the 200 ft. long mural that spans whole lobby starts in the past and has feminine and masculine sides and meet in the ocean.  The original mural is installed and shows motifs and themes of culture it is the key to things seen in resort. Joe stated that when you finally get to Aulani they want you want to feel like you are somewhere special. The Lobby tells that because it doesn’t look like home.  There are no Disney characters in open spaces, because the focus is Hawaii.
The Imaginers collaborated with local schools:  there is a rainbow wall behind check in that is 50+ ft. long made up of 125+ photos taken by school children and was part of a contest, the youngest winner was in 4th grade.  They mural shows what the native children love about home. There is also a map made up of graphics and pictures, to help show visitors where to find things on the island in a visual manner.

 Music in the lobby was written by an award winning Hawaiian musician Keali'i Reichel. When Disney started the Aulani project Keali'i Reichel was skeptical about the project actually being about Hawaii not Disney, but the Imaginers won him over. The music is very spiritual and has native chanting and drums.
Also available is a interactive smart phone game named Hoike which is a collection of interactive cultural tours that can be played for 7 or 8 hours. The content was created by local high schoolers to help visitors learn about the islands culture and history. Even Aunties Beach House has konini (like checkers) for kids on touch screen and there is music in that kids area from the parks translated to Hawaiian.
Laniwai Spa

The spa at Aulani is the first destination spa designed by Imagineering. In standard Aulani fashion they went above and beyond. The stones at the entrance have a word to focus on, and spa visitors pick one up and carry it down the hall to the treatment area. At end of hall is a 15ft tall round rotunda w a glass drop that drops a single drop of water at a time, the water that drops falls into pool, each spa visitor drops their rock in the water and the ripples it creates brings it all together.
Aulani Magic meets Disney Magic

Magic is all through the resort but how does it tie together? One example is the center of lobby where there is a compass rose; there is a compass next to it, but this compass rose’s north points randomly. Hawaii didn’t use cardinal navigation; they used the land for navigation.  In the compass rose there is a frigate bird surrounded by leaves (frigate birds go to sea 50 miles then return daily Hawaiians use for direction). An arrow at the top left of the compass rose made from corral points to ocean, underneath is a wood arrow pointing towards the mountains and to the right and left of the compass rose are arrows made out of lava; one is rough for masculine other smooth for feminine and water drops illuminate and sparkle and becomes a constellation.

The Imaginers wanted Aulani to be a living place by laying the resort out based on Hawaii concepts of space, which includes the concept that all the land is covered by water and is shared. Water that falls from the sky works downwards from the mountains to sea so the Resort has water that flows from lobby to ocean. Because Aulani and Hawaii are so rich in story things to talk to the locals about surround you, which stimulates relationships.
The land is alive and speaks to you and has messages through imagery.  Unlike the Tree of Life where animals are easy to find, at Aulani items are sculpted to be found during different times of year like in the winter or in certain light, in the rain or certain times of day.  The resort is designed to make you look at your surroundings. The Imaginers even designed things to make children look at their surroundings. The Menehunae are throughout the resort to make children discover, Aunties which is home like for kids has things to make them explore, and through out the hotel items are installed at their eye level to let children find them.

Hawaiian Language
The Olelo Room is a bar in the resort is even designed to make people learn, Olelo means language, language is a barrier between people and a manner of communication. Olelo is a lounge by day, and a bar by night; it is filled with the Hawaiian language by putting cards and words everywhere to help guests learn Hawaiian. The chairs, floor, door, and bartender are even labeled and there are flash cards guests can use.

Everyone who works at Aulani must be proficient in the Hawaiian language it is the first Hawaiian resort in 140 years to have a Hawaiian language requirement. This language requirement helps create greater familiarity and helps create deep and rich interaction between the guest and guest members.

Aulani Expansion
Already Aulani is expanding, the expansion reaches out to ocean w pool and kid zone and it touches on a few experiences.  There will be a new toddler water zone with a low water level and spray zone it will  have a corral waterfall that has music as well as an infinity edge.
There will be a new gift shop based on a house of birds, filled with Hawaiian birds. And, a new cafe based on wind and kites is also being added.

Myths, Legends and Piko Stones
The entire Aulani area is based on Maui myths and legends, as Maui is a deep source of legend.  But, as Joe stated if you build the most Hawaiian resort ever you have Hawaiians apply. Cast member protocol is set by Hawaiians. The resort is very Disney but yet has Hawaiian core values so the most important thing guests can do is relate to the locals at the hotel.
The final thing Joe discussed was the resort’s Piko stone which is a native stone from Hawaii. Before they started building the resort the keeper of the island’s traditions did her various mediations and found the spiritual center of the resort’s land. This area was marked with a stake, even the pool was redesigned to work around it so that that stake was kept safe. Two months before open Joe was told as “leader” to find a stone to mark this spot. Two years earlier when clearing the land, there was a huge front loader pulling up coral stone. Joe told them to save the corral; this was left in the parking lot and set for two years. After being told he had to find a stone, Joe went to this area and found one he though represented the resort, the keeper of the island’s traditions approved it. Joe said it had fossils etc. and just FELT right. It was placed on the resort’s workers day (a day the builders and their families are invited to spend the day at the resort), worker’s day was a concept new to Hawaii. One person brought in a sacred offering bundle, and it was perfect because the Piko stone being a spiritual marker because it has a place to go. Two hundred people took the bundle to the Piko stone, which sets in the in the middle of Aulani, it is an un-ownable piece of Hawaiian culture. The Piko stone out does Disney itself and the work they did because it creates a real Hawaii.

The one thing Joe wanted us to understand I think is, Aulani is Hawaii, but Hawaii is Hawiians and Disney has gone above and beyond to ensure that it's resort guests are surrounded by the real Hawaii's art,  music,  language and spiritual roots.